The Road to Black History Month: Honoring the Legacy of Carter G. Woodson

Let’s take a closer look at how we got here!

Most people have heard the name Carter G. Woodson, but not everyone truly understands why he’s so widely celebrated or how his tireless efforts shaped the way the world remembers Black history today. Known as “the Father of Black History,” Woodson was the visionary who transformed a nation’s understanding of African American heritage through the creation of Negro History Week, which would later evolve into Black History Month.

According to the NAACP, Woodson was born in 1875 in New Canton, Virginia, to formerly enslaved parents, James and Anne Eliza Riddle Woodson. Growing up in poverty, he spent his early years helping on his family’s farm and later working long, grueling hours in the coal mines of West Virginia. Though he had very limited access to formal education, he possessed an insatiable curiosity and an unbreakable determination to learn. As The Washington Post notes, Woodson taught himself basic reading and arithmetic before entering high school at the age of 20—and astonishingly graduated in under two years (The Washington Post).

His passion for education didn’t stop there. Woodson earned a bachelor’s degree from Berea College in Kentucky, worked as an educator in the Philippines, and later completed both a master’s degree at The University of Chicago and a Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1912. This achievement made him only the second Black American to earn a doctorate from Harvard, following W.E.B. Du Bois (History.com).

Yet, despite his credentials, Woodson faced severe racism and academic exclusion. While at Harvard, he encountered professors who outright dismissed the notion that African Americans had a meaningful history worth studying. According to Google Arts & Culture, Woodson’s professors even challenged him to find scholarly evidence proving that Black people had contributed to civilization—a challenge he had already been meeting for years through his independent research (Google Arts & Culture).

Woodson’s early academic struggles became the foundation of his lifelong mission. As Smithsonian Magazine recounts, when his research was repeatedly rejected from mainstream historical conferences such as the American Historical Association, he realized that African American scholars needed their own spaces to preserve and promote their stories. In 1915, Woodson partnered with minister Jesse E. Moorland to establish the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH)—a groundbreaking institution dedicated to researching and documenting the achievements of people of African descent (Smithsonian Magazine). Today, that organization still exists under the name Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

Just a year later, Woodson founded the Journal of Negro History, now known as the Journal of African American History, which became a cornerstone of Black academic publishing (History.com). Over the next decade, he continued to write, teach, and advocate, determined to fill the gaps in America’s understanding of its own history.

In 1926, after nearly ten years of relentless scholarship, Woodson launched Negro History Week, selecting the second week of February to align with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two figures long revered within the Black community. According to National Geographic, his goal was not only to celebrate these two icons but to create a nationwide moment for schools, churches, and communities to recognize the vast contributions of Black Americans that had been ignored by mainstream curricula (National Geographic).

Woodson once said that the purpose of the week was to “emphasize not Negro history, but the Negro in history.” He envisioned it as a time when the world would come to understand that the story of Black America was inseparable from the story of America itself. His initiative quickly gained traction—within just a few years, mayors and educators across the country began officially recognizing Negro History Week, and new community programs and exhibits flourished.

By the late 1960s, as the Civil Rights Movement fueled a broader push for racial pride and cultural awareness, Negro History Week naturally expanded into Black History Month on college campuses (History.com). Although Woodson passed away in 1950 at the age of 74—before witnessing this full transformation—his dream continued to flourish through generations of educators, artists, and activists who carried his mission forward.

In 1976, during the nation’s bicentennial celebration, President Gerald Ford formally recognized Black History Month, urging Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history” (White House Archives).

Today, nearly a century after Woodson’s first Negro History Week, Black History Month is celebrated not just in the United States but also in countries like Canada and the United Kingdom. It stands as a testament to Woodson’s vision—that history is not complete unless it includes every voice that built it.

As we celebrate today, it’s vital to remember that access to this knowledge was not always guaranteed. Carter G. Woodson devoted his entire life to creating pathways where there were none. Where doors were closed, he built new ones; where stories were silenced, he gave them a platform. His dedication reminds us that the preservation of truth is both a privilege and a responsibility.

Happy Black History Month — and may we continue to honor those who paved the way for us to see ourselves in the story of history itself.